Generally, process reactors are used to process operations upon wafers, e.g., silicon wafers. These wafers are typically processed numerous times in various reactors in order to form integrated circuits thereon. Some of these process operations involve, for instance, depositing materials over select surfaces or layers of a wafer. One such reactor is a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) reactor.
For example, a PECVD reactor may be used to deposit insulation films such as silicon oxide (SiO), silicon nitride (SiN), silicon carbide (SiC), silicon oxide carbide (SiOC), and others. Conductor films may also be deposited using PECVD reactors. Such material films, to name a few examples, may include tungsten silicide (WSi), titanium nitride (TiN), aluminum (Al) alloy, etc. Depending on the type of film being deposited, specific reaction gases are brought into the PECVD reactor while radio frequency (RF) power is supplied to produce a plasma that enables the deposition.
During the deposition process, systems and circuitry are used to set and/or monitor settings and operational parameters. One example parameter is temperature, e.g., which is controlled by heaters embedded in a substrate support of a reactor. In some cases, the circuitry used to set, control and/or monitor parameters can become complex and extensive. In addition, some systems require rotation of the wafer while processing, which further requires additional circuitry and control. Conventionally, as reactor systems become more complex, more circuitry is added to enable the settings, control and/or monitoring. Unfortunately, as reactor system increase in complexity, so does the size and cost of such systems.
It is in this context that embodiments described in the present disclosure arise.